


Deviation

by wickedrum



Category: Halt and Catch Fire, Jameron - Fandom
Genre: Angst, Emotions, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Reconciliation Sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-01
Updated: 2015-08-05
Packaged: 2018-04-12 10:39:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,235
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4476275
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wickedrum/pseuds/wickedrum
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Poles of a magnet, Joe and Cameron will always either pull apart or collide.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Revelation

Cameron sat in her pickup outside Donna's house, at a loss after dropping her off there following her procedure. She found it hard to understand the older woman most of the time, but this was something she would've done the same. There was no place for babies in their lives, whether the company failed or floated. 'I will talk to Joe', were her final, encouraging, parting words to her older co-worker, but that was easier said than done. While it was usually the engineer who handled their contact with their network partner because Cameron did not want anything to do with her ex, the blonde decided it was time she took her own company's business into her own hands. Hopefully Donna is right in saying that the younger woman still had a hold over Joe, cause begging, or changing her principles Cameron was not ready to resort to.

She slowly made it over to the adjacent, modest middle-class neighbourhood where the address was that she was given. It seemed like Joe and the Clarks didn't live all that far away from each other. The apartment complex was rather small and confined, and Cameron was surprised to find no obstacle in her way in the form of a locked gate or porter. She rang the bell upstairs, nervous and fidgety, anticipating a dissension not just with Joe, but Sara as well. A woman turning up at people’s doors in the middle of the night was not a customary sight, she had to admit. 

Inside, Joe was sitting on the couch, barefoot, hunched into himself in his desperation. He was holding his head, the same position he had been in since he arrived back home from Mutiny and found the apartment mostly empty of all knick-knacks and the rest of Sara's elaborate ornaments and various other belongings, from clothes to her toothbrush, a statement of intent substantiated by her set of the front door keys on the table, and a short letter that explained nothing, but felt like a punch to the gut despite the apologetic words. Sara could not do complicated, Sara could not do uncertain.

The sound of the bell made him look up slowly, still numb and resigned as per his logical mind, but his stomach churned with hope despite all evidence. He padded over warily, more in a mental state of foreboding resignation that let his heart bleed open for more pain, than anything else. "Sara?" He breathed uncertainly, quiet, as he opened the door wide and letting it go to fling wherever it wanted behind him in his abject indifference.

Cameron paused, freezing, her forehead creasing in confusion. She came face to face with a Joe who was manifestly crying, was in the same clothes she had met him hours earlier in the evening, eyes red and tears falling down his cheeks. It was not something the coder anticipated. And it wasn't her who put the tall man into this state either. All the words she was preparing got stuck in her throat. "Are you alright?" Was what came out instead.

Joe hesitated. A large part of him wanted to fling the door in her face, but for that, his hand would've had to look for purchase and the damage was already done in any case. So instead, he ambled back into the apartment, turning wordlessly and plopping down onto the couch to land in his original position, leaving it up to Cameron what she did next. Her ex followed, looking around, finding it impossible to miss how empty and lifeless the place was even by Joe's standards. And then, there was the letter and a ring on top of it. While she could not see all the words from where she was standing, the signature at the bottom was readable and it was not hard to put two and two together. "So you're not working for Wheeler anymore anyway? All chances for a deal are off?" She questioned, wanting to know where her company stood following these new developments.

"Jacob doesn't know anything yet," Joe established flatly, "but if it comes to being up to him, you will get a five dollar deal and nothing else." He sighed, rubbing his eyes and trying to get himself together. He could do with his friend Gordon right now, telling him he was Joe Macmillan, fierce businessman, able to make everyone do as he intended.

"Is there any chance we could sign the 3.50 contract before he finds out his daughter broke up with you?” Cameron contemplated what could be salvaged for herself from the situation. Who would’ve thought Joe’s love life still had such an influence on her own survival. “The real Unix port could be functional by tomorrow, you know we can do it if we want to.”

Joe raised his eyes up to her slowly, a little confused. Sure, in essence he wanted Mutiny to be more available for users and ultimately accelerate its potential for success, but did Cameron really think he cared about technological benchmarks and contracts right now? “You have time.” He finally managed to focus enough to get himself vaguely on the same page. “It’s not like Sara would run to her father for comfort. It’s not like I’ve done anything wrong. It’s not like I’ve done anything Jacob wouldn’t approve of. He might want to keep…I don’t know what he will want to do,” he shook his head, uncertain of his own future. Not that he would want to think so far ahead yet at any case. The ache in his chest made sure of that. 

“That’s why we need to finalise everything before it’s too late,” Cameron urged, “do you have those papers somewhere?” She looked around for her ex’s briefcase, locating it by the door. Not hearing any more arguments, she retrieved the item and sat on the couch, far enough for it not to feel intimate, but close enough for her to be able to use the table to place the document case on and find the required item. She scribbled her name on the appropriate places, then put the papers down in front of him with an uneasy look. Joe seemed lost in his own world again and with his face behind his large palms, the coder wasn’t even sure he knew what she was doing. “Joe.” She prompted. 

“I have done nothing wrong,” he repeated, voice adamant and somewhat hysterical.

Cameron took a slow breath, swallowing down the urge to accuse him again of using Sara to get to her father’s billions. Not with Mutiny’s survival at stake. It looked like he needed a little bit of prompting to cooperate and she decided to approach the situation as a problem to be solved, like her analytical mind would dictate if she wasn’t too thrown by her own emotions. “You don’t look good. Do you want some water?” She started with a relatively safer tactic to bring him out of his shell for the time being, “or, you must have some alcohol in this house?”

It took him a while to answer, “there’s a wine rack in the kitchen.” At least he hoped it was still there. It belonged to Sara after all as pretty much everything else that was once there. 

The blond nodded. It wouldn’t be her choice of alcohol, but she knew it will do Joe. She took a quick look in the fridge to find indeed no beer, it was the same level of empty as the house, then retrieved two glasses and the only bottle of wine available, some white Californian sort she didn’t care about. The silence as she worked on the cork could’ve been awkward, but strangely, it wasn’t. Joe was too far away in his troubles to convey as much as a sense of being present. With a little eye roll, she provided the beverage and put it down also in front of him. Would Joe be so depressed solely because his plans collapsed like a stack of cards? He didn’t really love the little woman, did he? Feeling peeved by the thought, she grunted: “Drink then.” 

To her surprise, Joe complied, and a little too well and too quickly for that. The contents of the glass were gone in an instant and he reached over for the bottle, taking it out of her hand. “Do we have a deal, or don’t we?” Cameron insisted rather undiplomatically.

“Why should I care?” Joe spat after one more full glass down the hatch. There was barely half a bottle left. “I wanted the best for you and you only played me.” At least he was a bit more lively.

Cameron frowned. Maybe the alcohol wasn’t such a good idea. It shook him out of his reverie alright, but not in a good way. “Look, I won’t say I didn’t make mistakes. You gotta admit, it was a top class con. In my defence, I only learned from the best, don’t you think?” The young woman raised her chin pointedly at him. “So, I would like to know, what else do we need to do to fulfil your conditions, or let us be done with it now and part ways for good.” Cameron was growing increasingly impatient.

“You don’t need to do anything,” Joe decided with new resolve. Maybe he was finished at Westgroup, maybe he would have to start everything all over again, but he could possibly help Mutiny out the way he’d initially intended. With a swift motion, he reached for the pen and filled in the blanks where his signature was needed as acting in the name of Wheeler and added the date of the day before for good measure. “It might not be a long term solution, but it could give you a head start,” he separated the sheets and held out Cameron’s copy. 

The young woman took it wearily. There were a whole load of conflicting thoughts and emotions whirling around in her head that she couldn’t cut through. It seemed like Joe was trying to do right by her just like Bos had said and she could sense his sincerity in his fraught expression and entreating eyes and yet there was anger in her bubbling under, given substance by the knowledge that a man like him could never be trusted. It was too much to deal with, Joe was too much to deal with on a good day, and this wasn’t one of those. She should take the advantage while the going was good. Saying thank you would not come natural for her under the circumstances as she rose, making her intentions of leaving clear, but his despondent wince at her parting nod and sideways backtracking to avoid the small table, made her hesitant. “Will you be alright?” She offered, an unpremeditated, instinctual question that came from a place that was angling for some sort of compromise of not having to thank him and not ignoring him completely either.

“No.” Joe articulated softly, word leaving his mouth like a boulder dropping onto the floor and weighing the room down. It wasn’t hard to see that the tears were barely kept in check, slowed down only marginally by the rapid blinking of his wet eyelids and the frequent swallowing of quickly disappearing wine he did not bother to pour into glasses anymore, but simply taken from the bottle.

“You’re not leaving me any?” Cameron grabbed for her glass, an inexplicable urge in her wanting to do something, but not being able to think of anything better than stopping him down the whole contents. 

Joe scooted forward and attempted to pour her some of the liquid in a haze and with a shaking hand. Cameron knew he wasn’t drunk enough for such uncoordinated movements, it was that more that he was a wreck. She didn’t care, she wouldn’t care, he deserves whatever comes his way, her anger told her, but in her heart, the cracks were starting to ache. “What happened? Why did Sara break up the engagement?”

Her ex gave a noncommittal shoulder movement, not quite a shrug, that would’ve required energy and its corresponding caring level he didn’t have. “I’m not good enough, for anyone, not matter how hard I try.”

Cameron opened her mouth and kept it open, unsure of how to proceed. She had rubbished his worth herself often, but it really wasn’t the time. “I doubt there aren’t people out there who would value what you’ve got to offer,” was the most positive thing she could come up with. 

Not nearly positive enough. Joe’s reaction was immediate. He leaned back, eyes closing, silent sobs going through his large frame in a state of overpowering abandonment of everything that was binding him to rationality and pretence. It was her undoing as well. 

Tbc


	2. Transaction

Chapter 2: Transaction

Driven by the constriction of her heart when seeing who she once thought was the love of her life falling apart in front of her eyes on levels she didn’t imagine him capable of, Cameron slid, moving her centre of gravity to rest on one knee as she turned her body towards Joe and reached out, incredulous, as if touching his tears would’ve helped making her understand and connect. Not very good at comforting, or human relationships at all, she resolved to leaning in and kissing his tears away, one by one, at one side and then the other. 

Joe’s focus shifted onto her slowly, moving his head to the side a little and frowning slightly. He didn’t quite have the energy to push her away, and the fog in his brain didn’t quite let him go as far as fully questioning her actions. But he knew it didn’t fit, and that giving into it would result in further heartache, cause what didn’t in his life? “Please don’t,” he trying reasoning, “not if you don’t mean it.”

Cameron pulled her body further towards him instead till she had him encircled in her arms and herself in his lap, then brought her leg round to the other side of him to make it feel more natural. It had the advantage of quasi locking him in place for when she kissed him, conscientious and purposeful, slow and testing, but changing quickly to devour at his lack of a rejecting, albeit hesitant and more permissive, than active response. At the same time, she began unbuttoning his shirt, practiced, proficient, habitual. It was how it went most of the time, with her doing the work, taking and providing how she saw fit, allowing her a dominance he had to outplay in everyday life, but was fascinated by all the while. 

The opened shirt gave her access to the scarred abs, the muscly shoulders and shapely tum that she ran her hands all over, a small smile playing at her lips for being obviously well on her way to seduce him once more and the rewards that entitled her to. His previously rigidly fisted hands came up behind her, onto her back side and slender hips and he slid her down into position and grinding against his awakening manhood. The compulsion was strong, to stay in the moment, to drown in her and not think of anything beyond this feeling, allowing for a different kind of numb and indifferent that spoke of self-destruction, but he didn’t care. 

Her hands roamed his chest and stomach, instinctually taking in the way his breath deepened with need and his heart sped. Encouraged by the success, she tugged at his nipples, her smile widening, seductive, sensual and smug. It was intoxicating the power she knew now she still had over him. She could make him do anything and maybe she will. Ultimately then, it wouldn’t matter whether the Wheeler deal stood, Joe could get them another advantageous one somewhere, that she was sure of. Joe Macmillan, fearless and unstoppable salesman. Her Joe Macmillan. Away with those tears. With a sympathetic expression that came close to being possible to be mistaken for love, she held her forehead to his, arms encircling him close and fierce, conveying the affection and encouragement he so sorely needed. Cameron licked his last tears away. 

They stayed locked, encircled, looking into each other’s eyes from close, caressing cheeks and locks of hair softly, exploring mouths slowly, as if it would’ve been the first time. Soon though, the blonde became aware of Joe’s manhood straining under her thighs, pressing hard into her loins commanding attention and peaking her interest. Quickies with Joe in every room of every level of the Cardiff building made her expert at this-undoing his belt and freeing them of as much clothing as was necessary for penetration as quickly as possible. 

In less than a minute, she was sitting on his cock, sliding down slowly and teasing, then lifting her body up faster. His fingers dug into her hips hard at her playfulness and he swallowed thickly, instinct taking over as he took control, guiding the speed of her movements. Cameron let him at this point, there was nothing she wanted more than his long shaft filling her, hitting the walls of her vagina, arousing her to the heights of altered consciousness, where him pulsating inside her propelled her into a state of peaceful bliss, free of all complications of the world and conductive of new ideas being born from it. She could always wreck her brains nights long and debate ideas with Tom and the rest, but this, this was easy. She will be so revitalised, receptive and raring to go after. It was hard to believe she willingly denied herself this method of inspiration. 

Cameron rode him hard, yet made weak by her desperation to and urgency to cum and buried her head in his shoulder for support. He had her bounce up and down a few times more, the overwhelming sensation of want making her bite her own lips hard before she moved on to his shoulder. Teeth in his flesh, they cummed, quivering and juddering with the well overdue, spent release. Her arms came up round his neck once more, neither of them wanting to let go, venture back into the real world, share a glance and perhaps have to notice the falseness in the other’s eyes. So they stayed, skin on skin, hair entangled in hair, sweat on sweat, tears on tears. 

It was the wetness that shook Joe out of his defensive burying his forehead into her neck, or more like the direction they came from. Disbelieving, he peeked round, just for a moment. Could it be possible that Cameron was also crying? “What’s wrong?” He took the back of her head into his long fingers gently, confusion clear in his expression.

“I didn’t realise how much I’ve missed you, you dementing bastard.”

If at all possible, the look of confusion on his face intensified, “how. Bos said you were in love.”

Cameron shrugged, “Bos told you what you needed to know.”

“I should never underestimate you,” Joe grumbled. 

“No, you shouldn’t,” the gamer grinned, settling into his chest for cosy, “seriously though. Any chance you could stay at Westgroup till you could find another host for us?” She may as well go full guns. 

“I’ll take care of it,” he promised, starting to weigh up plans and possibilities. As long as they were together. 

The End.


End file.
